


I could win a thousand wars with you by my side

by Iwritesomestuff



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Best Friends, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Fights, Fluff, Gem Fusion, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Jasper Redemption (Steven Universe), M/M, Not Canon Compliant, Other, Realistic, Strong Female Characters, Uneasy Allies, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-07-01
Packaged: 2020-05-31 02:28:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19416610
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Iwritesomestuff/pseuds/Iwritesomestuff
Summary: Steven and Peridot discover something during a mission, something that could possibly undo the greatest tragedy in the Gem War, while also learning new things about themselves in the process.





	1. Jungle Mystery

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys and gals, this is my first stevidot fanfic, and I really want this to turn out good, even though I am not a very experienced writer, but still, I hope you enjoy this.  
> I will try to achieve a more realistic look on what effects having to fight in a war would do to a 16 year old ( yes, that's Steven's age ) and how that would clash with his inner goodness.  
> And lastly, I would like to say this is not canon compliant, I have not seen the show in a while, so please have that in mind.  
> Thanks for reading my long-ass author's notes, hehehe.)

*Somewhere in South America*  
The sun shone brightly on the sky scalding the earth underneath it, making every land based life form scatter and look for a cool shadow. Every life form but a chubby young man with a mission, even while getting constantly assaulted by mosquitoes or having to cut off the local shrubbery to advance, Steven Universe was not one for quitting, specially when searching for something that could be so important.  
He could still remember the excitement on Garnet's face (though certainly not her voice) when she told him about the underground Gem lab from back in the Gem wars, one that could possibly have information about corruption and it’s effects, and more importantly, how to reverse them.  
It could have been a wild goose chase, but one that Steven was more than happy to engage if it meant having a shot at curing so many gems, so he packed up on supplies and set out, accompanied by his most trustworthy Kindergarten technician, The Great and Lovable Peridot, a name that Steven made sure to replace with cutecake every time, even though that infuriated the green gem (which made her even more of a cutecake in Steven’s opinion).  
“So, how long till we get there dot? It’s been a while since we got out of the warp pad” Steven complained while swatting some of his flying assailants.  
“I’d say about more 10 minutes, at least I hope so, you haven’t eaten or drank something in hours, and we could both use a rest” the green gem said in a worried tone  
Steven found that cute, her worrying about him, in the years she’s been on Earth, Peridot had come from being an enemy, to an ally, to Steven’s closest friend, he loved teaching her about his planet, and how even after learning a lot about the world, she was still charming and juvenile in way only she could pull off.  
Peridot herself also thought very highly of Steven, even after meeting and befriending the other gems, Steven was her true best friend, the same person who showed so much compassion and patience for her, and who led her to grow as a person, a _free_ person, with her own dreams and objectives, and even gave her a family, with the Cristal Gems being much more close to her today than in years prior.  
“Don’t worry, I feel fine, gem phisiology and all that, I mean, I wouldn’t say no to a nice meal and some breathing time, but I can manage” Steven assured her, smiling in a way Peridot couldn’t help but smile back.  
“All right, as soon as we can, we’ll sit down and eat something” Peridot said and they resumed their comfortable silence, and after a couple more slashes with Steven's shield they managed to cut a path to a clearing, which Peridot said was the right place.  
“Ok, we’re here, finally, let’s open this thing and check it out Peri” Steven asked, and Peridot pulled a strange looking device with a few buttons from her bag, and after pressing a certain combination, the ground began to shift and descend, giving them access. “This old gem tech is really easy to hack sometimes, makes me realize why the diamonds struggled so much against guerrila tactics, well, that and the fact that the Cristal Gems kick ass” Peridot said, getting a chuckle from Steven.  
After the elevator stopped, a big metal door opened to reveal an ample space with lots of computers and tables with damaged tech, and as Peridot pulled out a small drone from her bag and told him to scan the area, she sat down with Steven to eat the lunch they packed from the temple, nothing fancy, a few sandwiches and some cookie cats for dessert. Eating was one of the many habits Steven taught her, and while her first experiences with eating were a bit “disastrous” (Amethyst feeding her mayonnaise donuts), she learned to enjoy food and it’s many tastes and textures.  
“You think we can learn something about corruption from all this?” Steven asked curious, he would always try to learn as much as he could from Peridot and Pearl, and Peridot enjoyed teaching him stuff for a change, “It’s a possibility, this lab is close to where the corruption battle happened, and the Crystal Gems were trying to investigate it back in the war, plus we caught some strange readings from the drones we sent here, all scrambled, not unlike how the waves that corrupted gems emit” She said knowledgeably, and Steven couldn’t help but love how smart she was, and how cute too, making him want to plant a little kiss on her......forehead, of course.  
After talking a bit more about corruption and the lab, they packed their stuff and got to work analyzing the data from the computers and the scrapped pieces from the tables, and while the things they found on the computers were useful in other ways, they didn’t really find anything about corruption, until Peridot found a heavily encrypted folder, so heavily encrypted that she could not analyze it further without her own, more powerful hardware, and time, so she opted for downloading the folder on her many hard drives.  
“What do you think it is?” Steven asked, tired from spending the whole day exploring the lab, “it’s _something_ , it has to be, this is way too encrypted, even by Homeworld standards, but we can only be sure once me and Pearl analyze it, so we should pack up and leave, I can see how much you’re yawning already, aren’t you quartzes supposed to be tough or something?” she teased him, getting another yawn as an answer, an adorable one she thought, “Yeah, we should leave, I miss my bed”.  
But after packing and getting to the elevator, they realized the storm that the lab had been sheltering them from, and not really wanting to repeat the hard journey under a torrent of water, they decided to camp inside the lab, using the tent they brought in case of emergency, which was a bit shorter than they had imagined from the pictures in the box, but still kept the cold out, so they didn’t really complain.  
After laying down in their bedrolls, they chatted for a bit, thinking about the discovery they possibly made, and the possible repercussions, as well as their life in general, and while they watched each other fall asleep, their bodies close in that tent, a warm and fuzzy feeling started to rise in their chests, a mixture of the love they felt for each other as friend, but with something more, something new to them, that they couldn’t quite put a finger on, but were enjoying nonetheless. And with that feeling, the same words came to their mouths, something they said before, but with a new, more profound meaning, that they didn’t really knew what was.  
“Good night, I love you”


	2. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steven and Peridot have unusual feelings, both getting to, and at their home

*Still in South America*  
As the sounds of the jungle faintly reached the lab, Peridot stirred awake, letting a long yawn out and wondering what to make for breakfast, before realizing that she wasn’t at the temple yet, and remembering everything from the day before. And while none of it was particularly unusual, minus the discovery they made from the computers, her mind wandered to the last minutes before falling asleep, talking to Steven and just relaxing after a long day, and the feeling she got while looking in his eyes, it was familiar and strange at the same time, it confused her, and while normally that would frustrate her, she enjoyed the feeling quite a bit, and those last words before slumber, I love you, they sounded, different, but not in a bad way.  
And while Peridot was lost in her own mind, she was startled by the sound of Steven waking up, with his own long yawn along with a bit of drool in his mouth, making her let out a tiny yelp, “Hehehe, you’re adorable dot” Steven’s words made her a bit mad, as usual, but much more importantly it made her blush, not like the first times he called her that, she actually felt her heart flutter a little bit, “I am not cute!” the irate gem yelled, and Steven almost said that that her blushing made her cuter, but decided against it, for the sake of his extended survival.  
It didn’t take them long to pick their stuff up and go home, with being mostly packed up already, and in the trip back, the temperature wasn’t as high as yesterday, since it was still morning, giving both Steven and Peridot time to think about what happened between them, Steven couldn’t understand exactly what he felt, but he had started to realize things, things that he already knew, but was seeing in a different way, like how beautiful Peridot looked, even with her hair all messy and sweating a bit from the trip, and something clicked on his mind, she didn’t look just cute, she looked beautiful, in a way he hadn’t really seen before, which made him blush quite a bit, and almost trip and fall, so he decided to think about this in a place where he could relax, like home   
*Back in Beach City*  
The temple was relatively quiet, with most of the Gems in their rooms, except for a tall fusion who sat in the couch waiting for her son and friend come back, she wasn't really worried, they had proven time and again that they could handle themselves, but she preferred this, waiting for them, just in case one of her more dire visions came true.  
The quietness of the temple was broken by the sound of a warp pad, and Steven and Peridot walked to the kitchen, sitting down and breathing for a bit, “Good morning to you two” the fusion said in a caring tone, “Had any trouble in the lab?”  
“Nothing but a few cuts from the trip there, but we had to stay the night because of a storm” the quartz said while drinking a cup of water. “We didn’t find anything useful at first, but just when we were about to shut everything off, I came across a heavily secured file, so heavily secured that I could only hope to crack it using my own tech, and a lot of time”  
“Sounds promising, even if it doesn’t have anything to do with corruption, but anyway, worry about that later, you guys deserve some rest, I’ll call the rest of the Gems to a meeting, so we can discuss the data you gathered” and with that said, Steven went to take a shower, and Peridot went to her room/workstation in the temple, which was a new addition, ever since she moved to it after lapis went to live underwater so she could monitor gem activity there, and although Peridot was sad she couldn’t live with her barnmate anymore, she was elated to have her own room in the beach house, it made her feel even more like a Crystal Gem.  
When she got there she was violently tackled by a hidden assailant, one that had struck in similar ways many times before, and while Peridot fell and gasped for air a bit, she couldn’t help but smile at the orange beast trying to lick her face. “Hello pumpkin, I missed you too girl, sorry I got here late, the weather got pretty bad”.  
In the shower, Steven took a long and much needed bath, that not only was a godsend after so much time walking in the jungle, but also allowed him to think about everything that happened recently, Bismuth being free and part of the CG again, Garnet giving him more important tasks and more opportunities to act as a leader and even the things he’s been feeling about Peridot, could this just be some extra affection he didn’t know he had for his friend? Or something more deep? That thought made him blush, which made him even more confused.  
After hearing the call from Garnet, both Amethyst and Pearl got out of their rooms, trying their best to treat each other as indifferently as possible, and while to the rest of the Gems this looked like one of their normal squabbles, even though those had become rarer in the past few months, the white and purple Gems knew that this was different, they knew that they still hadn’t processed what happened a week ago, and where in no way ready to think or, god forbid, talk about it.  
Garnet actually noticed the different feeling that the tension between them had this time, but would never intrude on their privacy by seeing their future, especially when her own conflicts had her mind full already, since even though her tough facade didn’t let on, Garnet had been having trouble seeing the future regarding the discoveries from the lab. This had happened before, sometimes there’s too many outcomes to predict, and her mind gets overwhelmed, but being blindsided was never a good feeling.  
As the Gems converged in the command center, another new addition to the beach house in which they kept maps, radios, and other things that could help them in their battles, a muscular grey gem emerged from her room, and immediately got the attention of the other three. Bismuth was the newest addition to the Crystal Gems, having renounced her more lethal ways after Steven freed her and instead of fighting again, showed her the plans on their mission to reverse corruption, and cure all her friends, and convincing her that he was not Rose, he was better.  
Steven and Peridot soon joined their teammates, and Garnet began to speak, “We have found something in that lab we discussed, a folder so heavily encrypted, it has to have something important in it, and considering the data we had on that area from before the war, it could have information regarding corruption, or even how to heal it”  
“That’s a big assumption G, did you see anything about this?” Amethyst asked.  
“I’ve been having trouble seeing anything about this, which could mean it’s something bad, or maybe something good, but it confirms it’s _something_ , so I think Peridot and Pearl should start working on it right away”  
“That would leave us with fewer gems to deal with the experiments, so I guess we quartzes are going to have to pull double shifts huh?” Bismuth spoke  
Garnet nodded, and after spending the next few minutes discussing the week’s assignments for all, the meeting was concluded and the gems resumed their usual business, with Steven and Peridot choosing to hang out for a bit before lunch, and before Peridot had to go to her lab and work.  
“Want to watch some Camp Pining Hearts? I heard they renewed the show for a 35th season” Steven suggested, and even though they had done that a thousand times before, he felt a little bit funny asking this, and he was sure that, even for a microsecond, Peridot blushed when she answered, “S-Sure, can we watch it on your room?” Peri said, and now it was Steven’s turn to blush, before nodding in confirmation.  
They sat on his bed as the TV streamed their show, and while he had some rest after he got home, Steven had some aching muscles, and wasn’t quite comfortable sitting, shifting a bit, “Want to lay your head on my lap?” Peridot offered and immediately felt her cheeks heat up, they had done similar things in the past while watching, but all of a sudden she was blushing at every word that came out of her or his mouth. “Sure dot, I’d love to” and after he laid there for a couple minutes and watched the episodes, he felt how soft Peridot’s thighs were, and how beautiful she looked from this (and every other) angle, “Uhh, Steven?” he heard her voice and broke out of his trance, he had been staring without realizing.  
“H-hey Dot”  
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Peri's voice sounded more curious and caring than accusing  
“Nothing really, it’s just that, you’re beautiful” Steven said, and both of them blushed madly, and went silent for a couple of minutes, without breaking eye contact.  
“T-thanks Steven, that’s really kind of you” Peri managed to say, and they resumed watching in some awkward silence, both not really paying much attention, until Peridot broke the silence.  
“Hey Steven, I think you’re beautiful too” and another minute of that silent staring contest, before Steven reacted, “You’re very cute” he said, hoping that she would get mad, and break the awkwardness with a smack on his forehead, but instead they blushed even more, and Peridot started feeling an almost maddening urge to kiss sim, before she decided to just focus on the TV, as to not possibly ruin their friendship, unknowing of the fact that Steven felt exactly the same.  
As they watched, the characters from the show were having a romantic moment in the campfire, looking passionately at each other before sharing a deep kiss (making both Steven and Peridot blush a bit more), which made both Gems start to wonder if that was what they were feeling, all the blushing and fuzzy feelings, could this be the same feeling they watched so much on the series, that Garnet talked with such passion about and even the reason that Steven existed on the first place?  
Could this be love?


End file.
